Turkey arrests Ukrainian plane ‘hijacker’

A Turkish court has decided to arrest a Ukrainian citizen who tried to force the crew of a Pegasus Airlines plane, en route from Kharkiv to Istanbul on February 7, to divert the aircraft to Sochi, where the Olympic Games are taking place, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

"Yesterday the court issued a ruling on the measure of restraint for the Ukrainian in the form of detention," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis told on Monday.

He said that the arrested Ukrainian was in Istanbul and that the Ukrainian consul visited him on Sunday. The Foreign Ministry said that the detainee was in satisfactory condition, there were no complaints about his detention conditions, and that he had been provided with a lawyer and interpreter.

As reported, late on February 7 a Ukrainian citizen, in a state of alcoholic intoxication, attempted to force the crew of a Boeing-737-800 plane, en route from Kharkiv to Istanbul, to be flown to Sochi, where the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics was taking place.

As a result, the plane, accompanied by fighters, managed to land in Istanbul, Turkey, where the security services detained the Ukrainian. The plane was carefully searched for the presence of explosive devices and nothing was found.

Ukraine's Consulate General in Istanbul is working with the Turkish authorities and law enforcement agencies on this case.

The passenger's actions are criminally punishable both in Turkey and Ukraine.